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Wednesday, December 04, 2013

What's Cooking in Paris

On Sunday I got to sit in on professional chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette's cooking class in her lovely townhouse in the 7th. First Richard escorted us through the Grenelle marché to pick up a few essential ingredients.

Charlotte is all about essential ingredients particularly French ingredients. She spent two years at le Cordon Bleu training and working and then went on to cater soirées at many embassies and still does Fashion Week twice a year.

Naturally being the secret spy I am I poked around and took pictures of all the stuff on the shelves.

Hmmm...Pugot Olive oil. I remember seeing this at the Omnivore Food Festival. Balsamic from supermarché Franprix!? Not what I expected to see. More than in any other cooking class the Ritz, Lenotre etc. I learned from Charlotte details on the differences between French and American products. For instance the best US butters have 80% fat while French butter has 82%. That's 2% more water in US high-end butters and it can change dramatically how things taste. Charlotte has been researching basic French ingredients since she got here some 20+ years ago. She knows things most French chefs haven't bothered to find out. They don't need to. They grew up with excellent products. I get completely confused at the supermarché, clueless how to choose between butters, creams. Now I get it!

We made dessert first, a chocolate fondant gateau.

And you don't have to spend a fortune using fancy Valrhona to get a glorious cake thanks to Charlotte's tests of various chocolate brands.

Shredding Brussels sprouts to go with toasted hazelnuts and pomegranate.

Cranberries and raspberries cooking over a simple caramel sauce Charlotte whipped together with no thermometers or stress.

Voila! This is called a 'gastrique'

To go with and contrast the roasted duck breast (magret). Duck is everywhere in France and well worth getting the hang of. The best roasting ducks are raised for foie gras. Not a duck that's shot as game - it's too skinny. The breasts were pan-seared first in case you were wondering before going into the oven. Everything; duck, potatoes, soufflés and cake cooked happily together in a 350 oven.

Charlotte shows us how to cut against the grain.

Duck and other game must be eaten rare or it becomes tough. Who knew?

Did we have our mache salade and soufflés before or after the duck? I can't remember but it all tasted perfect.

The wine was a cote de Rhone white.

This was my first taste of créme fraiche

Like sour cream but much better and goes divinely with the deep chocolate fondant. Ideally chocolate cake tastes better the next day - the flavors intensify. But no one was waiting to find out...

I found Charlotte's creme fraiche selling at Franprix for a song. Yay.

Another fabulous day in the Parisian life of Carol! That all looks so delicious. A lovely seasonal menu. I saw a very similar brussells sprout recipe a couple of days ago, it looks fantastic. As does that dessert. I can't believe you're new to creme fraiche, but glad that you've found it now, and taken to it with gusto.

After this cooking class, does this mean you will be cooking Christmas dinner for all your friends ?? I was also surprised to see olive oil labels I recognised, just goes to show the myth behind these chefs.

you can also buy crème fraiche bulk from the fromageries - they sell it from big bowls, alongside the fromage blanc. We use it for sour cream, mix it with fruit, or use it to thicken sauces (add it to the braising liquid from a lapin à la moutarde.) So yummy. Don't understand why it's so rare/expensive in North America.

Oh my! Love the look of that chocolate fondant (chocolate is, after all, my favourite food group) and the Roquefort souffle. Miam. And I can't wait to hear from Bear - I've been wondering what he's been up to.

Enjoyed very much ....I took many classes in Bay Area from fabulous chefs, and still watch food network so I knew much of this...and I am obsessed by butter..I used to buy butter from France and got good at naming the area where it came from....but I enjoy your blog so much..lots of fun watching you discover wonderful Paris finds...

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♥carol gillott♥

l'Ile Saint Louis, Paris, Ile de France, France

Hi I'm Carol Gillott,
My Mom taught me watercolors at 5 and I'm still at it. Now I live by the Seine on l'Ile Saint-Louis. Do consider subscribing to my Paris letters and maps on Etsy and enjoy a taste of Paris in your mailbox every month to savor with a hot chocolate and croissant. I paint Paris dreams.